The Warriors Preview

Gang warfare at its most violent

"Can you dig it?" That's what New York gang-leader Cyrus wants to know when he gathers together a 60,000 strong crowd comprising members of every gang in the city. A collective super-gang that outnumbers the city's cops three to one. A gang brought together under a mutual truce that, if sustained, could see the Big Apple's power balance shift to the streets. Police being taxed; Businesses paying for protection; gang lords ruling all; New York under new order.

Dig that?

Unfortunately for one of the gangs, The Warriors, the crowd definitely does. Even more unfortunate, a rival gang sees a chance to dispose of ol' Cyrus and pops a cap in his chest, followed swiftly by a police raid. In the ensuing madness the gang places the blame on The Warriors, and no one questions it. The truce unceremoniously broken, The Warriors find themselves faced with a severely pissed off would-be uber-gang, in the heart of the Bronx, behind enemy lines and 20 miles from the safety of their home on Coney Island.

The chase is on.

A cult slice of cinema history, 1979 chase flick The Warriors is perhaps long overdue for game adaptation, especially with its kinetic, action-packed plot that so obviously suits the video game medium. Promisingly, it's GTA publisher Rockstar that's tasked with delivering this (its first licensed title) to tie in with the film's October Collector's Edition DVD release. The company directors are big fans of the film, and, having had the license for seven years, Rockstar seem intent on delivering on its promise with a game that goes beyond both the boundaries of the movie, and the conventions of the game's chosen genre.

... the combat system is surprisingly deep...

From appearance alone, a scrolling fighter with a stylized 1970's skin, The Warriors' main hook is that it offers more depth and variety than any of the more recent, desperate attempts at scrolling brawlers. For starters, the combat system is surprisingly deep, with attacks ranging from typical punches, kicks and throws, to moves usually more at home in traditional 1v1 Beat 'em ups: grapples, blocks, on-the-floor scuffles and reversals all making up the game's essential fighting fabric. State of Emergency this is not.

Fighting a group of foes has also been considered, and The Warriors offers two options. Attacks can either be directed at foes in all directions merely by pressing an attack button together with a direction, or a single enemy can be targeted with a trigger button, making fighting when surrounded a surprisingly stress-free affair.

Combat looks more involved than in similar games

Stress-free also describes the game's HUD, with only a small amount of info on screen. Health, for instance, is placed in a coloured circle at your character's feet instead of on the Heads Up Display. Enemy health can also be seen in this way, with a green circle indicating good health, followed by yellow, orange, red, and finally death.

The quickest way to send enemies into the red and beyond is by achieving Rage mode. This is activated by repeatedly hitting enemies, which fills up a bar on the HUD. Similar to the Devil Trigger in Devil May Cry, a single button press with a full Rage bar will activate a faster, angrier and more dangerous version of your character, capable of more damaging blows and certain special attacks. Specific to Rage mode, for instance, is a jarring 360 degree spin kick that floors all enemies within its radius - definitely a rewarding (if repetitive) way of disposing of enemy gangs.

During our look at the game we saw this combat demonstrated by the initiation of Rembrandt into The Warriors. In this, Rembrandt was the player-controlled character and he was fighting against other members of the gang. This is a scene from the pre-film plot, and we are told that such scenes will take up the first half of proceedings, with only the second half of the game being based on the film itself. This artistic license gives Rockstar considerable room for manoeuvre with locations and gameplay options, while allowing them to flesh out the game as a whole. Let's face it, a violent chase film may be good game material, but without additions it has one-dimensional written all over it.